Lampholder mounting assembly with captive nut

ABSTRACT

A mounting assembly to be used in securing a lampholder to a fixture panel. The lampholder has a base with spaced legs extending forwardly therefrom and defining a slotted opening therebetween with opposing faces of the legs having recesses which extend lengthwise thereof. A retaining nut extends across said slotted opening with its opposite side edges extending into said recesses. The retaining nut is formed of thin sheet metal and is curved in its lengthwise direction to form a bendable arc-like segment. The arc-like segment, as formed has an overall thickness greater than the width of the recess in the opposing faces of the legs whereby the side edges of the retaining nut are held under compression between opposing surfaces of the recesses when inserted therein. A retaining screw extends into the slotted opening between the legs and engages with a threaded opening in the retaining nut.

United States Patent Johnson [451 Aug. 1,1972

[54] LAMPHOLDER MOUNTING ASSEMBLY WITH CAPTIVE NUT [72] Inventor: GeorgeE. Johnson, Bronxville, NY.

[73] Assignee: Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.,

Brooklyn, NY.

[52] US. Cl ..240/5L11, 85/32 K, 151/7, 240/52, 339/50 R [51] Int.Cl....H0lr 33/08, F16b 29/00, F16b 39/24 [58] Field of Search..240/51.l1, 52; 339/50, 52, 339/53, 54, 55, 56, 22, 176; 151/7, 47.7,41.71, 41.72, 41.76; 85/32 R, 32 K 2,737,269 3/1956 Flora ..85/32RX3,524,053 8/1970 Johnson ..240/5l.1lR

Primary Examiner-Joseph F. Peters Attorney-Cushman, Darby 8L Cushman[57] ABSTRACT A mounting assembly to be used in securing a lampholder toa fixture panel. The lampholder has a base with spaced legs extendingforwardly therefrom and defining a slotted opening therebetween withopposing faces of the legs having recesses which extend lengthwisethereof.

A retaining nut extends across said slotted opening with its oppositeside edges extending into said recesses. The retaining nut is formed ofthin sheet metal and is curved in its lengthwise direction to form abendable arc-like segment. The arc-like segment, as formed has anoverall thickness greater than the width of the recess in the opposingfaces of the legs whereby the side edges of the retaining nut are heldunder compression between opposing surfaces of the recesses wheninserted therein. A retaining screw extends into the slotted openingbetween the legs and engages with a threaded opening in the retainingnut.

12 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures LAMPI-IOLDER MOUNTING ASSEMBLY wmr CAPTIVENUT CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 817,125, filed Apr. 17, 1969, andnow abandoned.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in amounting assembly for securing a lampholder to a fixture panel. Itrelates, more particularly, to a mounting assembly for a lampholderwherein a retaining nut is held captive in the lampholder and inposition for engagement with a retaining screw.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensivemounting assembly for securing a lampholder to a fixture panel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mounting assembly inwhich the parts of the assembly will not become lost or misplaced.

A mounting assembly embodying the present invention includes a retainingnut formed of sheet metal having a curved or arc-like shape. Wheninstalled in the lampholder, the retaining nut is held captive inposition to receive a retaining screw which may be attached to andcarried by the nut. This provides a very inexpensive mounting assemblyand greatly simplifies installation of the lampholder on the fixturepanel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent andwill be better understood from the following description and theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a lampholder and a mounting assembly embodyingthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view in partial section of the lampholder and mountingassembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a retaining nut forming part of the mountingassembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of an assembled retaining screw and retaining nutfor the mounting assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in partial section of a portion of thelampholder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view in perspective illustrating the lampholderand mounting assembly of FIG. 1 in conjunction with a fixture panel; and

FIG. 7 is a side view in partial section of a portion of the lampholderand mounting assembly of FIG. 1 as installed on a fixture panel.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is a lampholder 10 whichis of the conventional tombstone type such as are used to support oneend of a fluorescent lamp and to establish electrical connectionsthereto.

As is customary, the lampholder 10 is formed of a plastic insulatingmaterial and comprises a body 11 which extends upwardly from a base 12.The body has an opening 13 in the front thereof for introduction of thecontact pins of a lamp (not shown). The body 11 and the base 12 whichare hollow, enclose contact elements 14 which engage with the lamp pins.

The base 12 has forwardly extending spaced legs 15 which are also hollowand define passageways having openings 16 at their outer ends for theintroduction of the ends of conductor wires (not shown) which areconnected to the contact elements 14 in a suitable manner. Opposingfaces 15a of the legs define an elongated opening l7 which extendsrearwardly to the front of the body 1 1.

- At the junction of the body 11 and the base 12, grooves 18 areprovided on opposite sides of the body to receive the side edges of acut-out or opening 19 in a fixture panel or support 20 when the bottomor inner edge of the opening is in abutting relation to the front of thebody 11 as shown in FIG. 7. Under these conditions, the legs 15 extendbeneath the fixture panel 20 with the body 11 of the lampholderextending upwardly from the panel in a vertical direction. The bottom orinner edge of the opening 19 in the panel 20 contains an open ended slot21 which extends over and is aligned with the slotted opening 17 betweenthe legs 15 when the lampholder is installed on the panel.

. The opposing faces 15a of the legs 15 contain oppositely disposedrecesses 22 having entrances or openings at the forward ends of thelegs. Upper and lower surfaces of the recesses which define the width Wthereof, are relieved,as indicated at23, to enlarge the entrances and tofacilitate the introduction of a retaining nut 24 therein. As notedabove, the legs 15 are hollow and hence, the wallsforming the opposingfaces 15a of the legs 15 are thin. As a result, the recesses must berelatively shallow in depth and are limited in width.

As shown in FIG. 4, the retaining nut 24 is curved in its lengthwisedirection and forms an arc-like segment. A threaded opening 25 isprovided in the center of the nut to threadably engage with the end of aretaining screw 26. A single convolution of a thread will serve for thispurpose.

Prior to assembly of the nut 24 with the lampholder, the overall heightor thickness H of the nut which corresponds to the distance between theupper surface of the arc-like segment and the lower outer ends thereof,as indicated in FIG. 4, is slightly greater than the width W of therecesses 22 in the opposing faces of the legs 15. In addition, thelengthwise dimension of the nut 24 is somewhat greater than the distancebetween the bottoms of the recesses 22 and hence, the nut must beintroduced lengthwise into the slotted opening 17- and retainingrecesses 22.

However, the retaining nut 24 is formed of thin sheet metal stock whichis bendable and thus, the nut can be flattened as it is forced into therecesses 22. In this connection, the relieved entrances to the recessespermit the side edges of the retaining nut to be freely introduced intothe recesses 22 for a major portion of their length. When binding takesplace between the side edges of the nut and the upper and lower surfacesof the recess, the retaining nut is forced home until it is seated inthe recesses with the nut being flattened to conform to the width of therecesses. The nut then extends across the slotted opening 17 between thelegs 15 with the threaded opening 25 therein in position to receive theretaining screw 26.

If desired, the retaining screw 26 may be threaded to the retaining nut24 prior to placing the nut in the recesses. This will not interferewith mounting of the lampholder on the fixture panel as the slot 21 inthe panel accommodates the screw with its headed end being exposed fortightening.

When the retaining nut 24 is assembled in the lampholder, the oppositeside edges of the nut are confined under compression between theopposing faces of the recesses and the nut is held captive in theslotted opening 17 between the legs. In addition, the end faces of thenut may have pointed or sharp lower ends. Thus,

the pointed end at the forward end of the nutwill have a tendency tobite into the opposing surface of the recesses and resist removal of thenut from the recesses. i

In practice, sheet metal stock having a thickness of approximately 0.042inches maybe used in forming the retaining nut 24 as an arc-like segmenthaving a radius of curvature-of about 0.365 inches and an overall heightor thickness of between 0.069 and 0.074 inches. The recesses 22 intowhich the nut'is forced are approximately 0.062 inches in'width (thedistance W between opposing'surface's thereof). The opening in the nutis threaded to receive a number 6-32 screw.

It will be understood thatwarious changes and modifications may bemadeby those skilled in the art in the embodimentof the invention asillustrated and described hereingwithou't departing from the spirit orscope of the invention.

1. In an assembly for mounting a lampholder on a fixture panel; theimprovement which comprises:

a. a lampholder having a pairof spaced legs'at one end thereof;

b. said legs having oppositely disposed grooves formed in and extendinglengthwise of opposing faces thereof; and

, c. a nut formed of a single thickness of permanently bendable sheetmaterial and having only two opposite side edges extending lengthwiserespectively in said grooves;

'd. said side edges being. normally curved in a lengthwise directionandhaving an overall normal nut height greater than the distance betweenopposing faces of each of said grooves; V

e. said curved side edges being engaged by and compressed between saidopposing faces of said grooves and being permanently bentthereby to a icurvature flatter than said normal height.

2. In an assembly formounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, theimprovement as defined in claim 1 wherein: I V v a. the oppositelydisposed grooves inopposing faces of the legs have enlarged open endsforpermitting ready insertion of the curved nut in a lengthwise directioninto the oppositely disposed grooves in the legs. 3. In an assemblyformounting a lampholder on a fixture paneLthe improvement which comprises:

a. a lampholder formed of a molded material and having a pair of spacedlegs at one end thereof,

b. 1 said spaced legs having opposing faces and oppositely disposedgrooves formed in said faces; and

c. a retaining member formed of a single thickness of permanentlybendable sheet material and having a greater dimension in length than inwidthand further having only two opposite side edges extendinglengthwise respectively in said grooves;

d. said side edges being normally curved in a lengthwise direction andhaving an overall normal retaining member height greater than thedistance between opposing faces of each of said grooves;

c. said curved side edges being engaged and held by said opposite facesof the grooves in the legs and being permanently bent thereby to acurvature --flatter than said normal height.

41in an-assembly for mounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, theimprovement'as-defined infclaim 3 in which:

a. the retainingmember fits into the grooves in the legs only wheninserted therein in said lengthwise direction; and f r b. the grooves'inthe legs have enlarged openings at the ends thereof. 7

5. In a mounting-for alampholder. having a pair of spaced legs at oneend thereofwith oppositely disposed grooves'formed in'and extendinglengthwise along opposing faces of said legs, the improvement whichcomprises: i r I 1 a. an arcuately shaped retaining member. having twolengthwise side edges and being adapted to extend between said legswith'onlyjsaidtwo side edges thereof fitting into said oppositely.disposed grooves respectively; v y

i b. said arcuate retaining member having a threadable opening at thecenter thereof and comprising a single thickness of permanently bendablesheet metal;

c. said sheet metalhaving a thickness less thanthe width of therespective v grooves and said lengthwise side edges of said arcuatelyshaped member being normally curved in their lengthwise direction to anoverall height which is greater than the width of said grooves;

d. said side edges also being permanently deformed to a curvature ofless than said normal height by engagement with the opposing faces ofthe respective grooves. v

6. in a mounting assemblyfor a lampholder, the improvement as defined inclaim 5 wherein:

a. the length of the retainingmember is greater than the width thereof.I v I 7. in a mounting for a lampholder havinga pair of spaced legs atone end thereof with oppositelydisposed grooves formed in and extendinglengthwise along'opposing faces of said legs, the improvement whichcomprises: v

a. an arcuately shapedretaining member adapted to extend between saidlegs with side edges thereof 7 f. said end faces being disposed at acuteangles relative to opposing surfaces of the grooves and defin ing sharpcomers engaging with said surfaces in lengthwise movement of theretaining member relative thereto. 8. in an assembly for mounting alampholder on a fixture panel, the combination which comprises: i

a. a lampholder molded of plastic material and having a pair of spacedlegs extending from one end thereof;

the arcuate retaining. member has angularly b. said legs having groovesformed in opposing faces thereof and extending lengthwise thereof;

c. said grooves having open ends and upper and lower faces defining thewidth thereof; and

d. an arcuate retaining member in the form of a threaded nut comprisinga single thickness of bendable sheet metal and having curved side edgesextending into said oppositely disposed grooves;

.e. said arcuate retaining member being curved in a lengthwise directionand having a curved thickness greater than the width of said grooves;

f. said curved side edges being engaged by the upper and lower faces ofsaid grooves and being held under compression therebetween; wherein:

g. the retaining member has end faces disposed at an acute anglerelative to the opposing faces of the grooves; v

h. said end faces having sharp corners engaging with said faces inlengthwise movement of the retaining member relative thereto.

9. In an assembly for mounting a lampholder, the

combination as defined in claim 8 wherein:

' the grooves in opposing faces of the legs haveenlarged openings attheir ends for permitting the side edges of the arcuate retaining memberto be introduced in the grooves freely when the retaining member isinclined relative to said openings.

I 10. in an assembly for mounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, theimprovement which comprises:

a. a lampholder formed of plastic material and having a body and a base;

b. said base including a pair of spaced legs extending outwardlytherefrom;

6 c. said legs having opposing vertical faces containing oppositelydisposed open-ended grooves which extend lengthwise of the legs;

(1. said grooves having a width defined by opposing 5 upper and lowerfaces; and

e. an arcuate blank formed from a single thickness of a deformablenon-resilient metal;

f. said blank being curved in a lengthwise direction to a curvaturegreater than the width of the grooves and having its onlytwo curved sideedges respectively extending into said oppositely disposed grooves;

g. said curved side edges being permanently deformed to a flattercondition than said curvature by engagement thereof between said upperand lower faces of the grooves.

11. In an assembly for mounting'a lampholder on a fixture panel, theimprovement as defined in claim 10, which includes:

receiving the curved side edges of the arcuate.

blank therein without deforming said side edges.

a. a threaded member engaging with a central por-"

1. In an assembly for mounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, theimprovement which comprises: a. a lampholder having a pair of spacedlegs at one end thereof; b. said legs having oppositely disposed groovesformed in and extending lengthwise of opposing faces thereof; and c. anut formed of a single thickness of permanently bendable sheet materialand having only two opposite side edges extending lengthwiserespectively in said grooves; d. said side edges being normally curvedin a lengthwise direction and having an overall normal nut heightgreater than the distance between opposing faces of each of saidgrooves; e. said curved side edges being engaged by and compressedbetween said opposing faces of said grooves and being permanently bentthereby to a curvature flatter than said normal height.
 2. In anassembly for mounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, the improvementas defined in claim 1 wherein: a. the oppositely disposed grooves inopposing faces of the legs have enlarged open ends for permitting readyinsertion of the curved nut in a lengthwise direction into theoppositely disposed grooves in the legs.
 3. In an assembly for mountinga lampholder on a fixture panel, the improvement which comprises: a. alampholder formed of a molded material and having a pair of spaced legsat one end thereof, b. said spaced legs having opposing faces andoppositely disposed grooves formed in said faces; and c. a retainingmember formed of a single thickness of permanently bendable sheetmaterial and having a greater dimension in length than in width andfurther having only two opposite side edges extending lengthwiserespectively in said grooves; d. said side edges being normally curvedin a lengthwise direction and having an overall normal retaining memberheight greater than the distance between opposing faces of each of saidgrooves; e. said curved side edges being engaged and held by saidopposite faces of the grooves in the legs and being permanently bentthereby to a curvature flatter than said normal height.
 4. In anassembly for mounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, the improvementas defined in claim 3 in which: a. the retaining member fits into thegrooves in the legs only when inserted therein in said lengthwisedirection; and b. the grooves in the legs have enlarged openings at theends thereof.
 5. In a mounting for a lampholder having a pair of spacedlegs at one end thereof with oppositely disposed grooves formed in andextending lengthwise along opposing faces of said legs, the improvementwhich comprises: a. an arcuately shaped retaining member having twolengthwise side edges and being adapted to extend between said legs withonly Said two side edges thereof fitting into said oppositely disposedgrooves respectively; b. said arcuate retaining member having athreadable opening at the center thereof and comprising a singlethickness of permanently bendable sheet metal; c. said sheet metalhaving a thickness less than the width of the respective grooves andsaid lengthwise side edges of said arcuately shaped member beingnormally curved in their lengthwise direction to an overall height whichis greater than the width of said grooves; d. said side edges also beingpermanently deformed to a curvature of less than said normal height byengagement with the opposing faces of the respective grooves.
 6. In amounting assembly for a lampholder, the improvement as defined in claim5 wherein: a. the length of the retaining member is greater than thewidth thereof.
 7. In a mounting for a lampholder having a pair of spacedlegs at one end thereof with oppositely disposed grooves formed in andextending lengthwise along opposing faces of said legs, the improvementwhich comprises: a. an arcuately shaped retaining member adapted toextend between said legs with side edges thereof fitting into saidoppositely disposed grooves; b. said arcuate retaining member having athreadable opening at the center thereof and comprising a singlethickness of bendable sheet metal; c. said sheet metal having athickness less than the width of the respective grooves and being curvedto an overall thickness which is greater than the width of said grooves;d. said sheet metal also being deformable when the side edges of saidarcuate retaining member are engaged by opposing faces of the respectivegrooves; wherein: e. the arcuate retaining member has angularly disposedfaces formed at opposite ends thereof; f. said end faces being disposedat acute angles relative to opposing surfaces of the grooves anddefining sharp corners engaging with said surfaces in lengthwisemovement of the retaining member relative thereto.
 8. In an assembly formounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, the combination whichcomprises: a. a lampholder molded of plastic material and having a pairof spaced legs extending from one end thereof; b. said legs havinggrooves formed in opposing faces thereof and extending lengthwisethereof; c. said grooves having open ends and upper and lower facesdefining the width thereof; and d. an arcuate retaining member in theform of a threaded nut comprising a single thickness of bendable sheetmetal and having curved side edges extending into said oppositelydisposed grooves; e. said arcuate retaining member being curved in alengthwise direction and having a curved thickness greater than thewidth of said grooves; f. said curved side edges being engaged by theupper and lower faces of said grooves and being held under compressiontherebetween; wherein: g. the retaining member has end faces disposed atan acute angle relative to the opposing faces of the grooves; h. saidend faces having sharp corners engaging with said faces in lengthwisemovement of the retaining member relative thereto.
 9. In an assembly formounting a lampholder, the combination as defined in claim 8 wherein:the grooves in opposing faces of the legs have enlarged openings attheir ends for permitting the side edges of the arcuate retaining memberto be introduced in the grooves freely when the retaining member isinclined relative to said openings.
 10. In an assembly for mounting alampholder on a fixture panel, the improvement which comprises: a. alampholder formed of plastic material and having a body and a base; b.said base including a pair of spaced legs extending outwardly therefrom;c. said legs having opposing vertical faces containing oppositelydisposed open-ended grooves which extend lengthwise of the legs; d. saidgrooves having a width defined by opposing upper and lower faces; and e.an arcuate blank forMed from a single thickness of a deformablenon-resilient metal; f. said blank being curved in a lengthwisedirection to a curvature greater than the width of the grooves andhaving its only two curved side edges respectively extending into saidoppositely disposed grooves; g. said curved side edges being permanentlydeformed to a flatter condition than said curvature by engagementthereof between said upper and lower faces of the grooves.
 11. In anassembly for mounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, the improvementas defined in claim 10, which includes: a. a threaded member engagingwith a central portion of the arcuate blank at a point between the saidlegs; b. said threaded member having a headed and extending above thelegs for clamping engagement with a supporting panel.
 12. In an assemblyfor mounting a lampholder on a fixture panel, the improvement as definedin claim 10 wherein: each of the oppositely disposed grooves in the leghas an enlarged opening at an outer end thereof for receiving the curvedside edges of the arcuate blank therein without deforming said sideedges.